Gov. Lynch cuts ribbon opening Spaulding Turnpike project

Saturday

Oct 27, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Liz Markhlevskayalmark@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — The Spaulding Turnpike expansion project is coming to conclusion a year ahead of schedule, and on Friday, Gov. John Lynch officially cut the ribbon for the turnpike near Exit 15, surrounded by officials from Rochester and N.H. Department of Transportation.

Lynch, whose term as governor is about to come to an end, said he was pleased to see the turnpike project almost finished.

“This is going to provide to economic development in ways we can’t even imagine,” said Lynch, while standing on the new southbound on-ramp at Exit 15, which became open to traffic earlier in the week.

From Exit 12 to Exit 15 on the turnpike there are now three travel lanes in each direction. From Exit 15 to just north of Exit 16, there are two lanes in each direction.

Mayor T.J. Jean said in addition to the economic development benefit, widening of the Spaulding Turnpike will add to public safety, tourism, and overall quality of life of the community.

About 31,000 vehicles travel the turnpike each day, and previously, some places on the turnpike had only one lane traveling in each direction, causing much traffic congestion during certain parts of the day.

“You could sit in traffic for an hour,” Lynch recalled.

Lynch, thinking back to one of his visits to the turnpike several years ago, said under some bridges he saw off-tilt wood pilings that were installed in 1992 to prolong the life of the bridges for one year.

As part of the Spaulding Turnpike project, three red-listed bridges and a fourth bridge that was almost red-listed have been replaced. Seven other bridges were in very bad shape and have been rehabilitated or replaced.

“This has been a very dangerous highway for many years,” said Fire Assistant Chief Mark Dupuis.

He said the turnpike expansion will likely help reduce the number of car accidents, especially serious accidents such as head-on collisions. The part of the turnpike that transitioned from being two lanes to being one lane was especially dangerous.

Now, a concrete divider separates northbound from southbound lanes and “It would be very hard for somebody to hop over that,” said Fire Chief Norm Sanborn.

The divider between the northbound and southbound lanes will also call for the Fire Department having to analyze ways it dispatches to the turnpike. With the divider, emergency officials would not be able to switch direction of travel as quickly, and in case of an accident, more attention will be paid to whether the incident occurred in the northbound or southbound lane.

Sanborn said the turnpike expansion will also impact the way his department accesses the rest of the city. When dispatching from Gonic to north Rochester, for example, Fire Department members will have less traffic congestion to battle through, and fire responders wouldn’t have to partially enter the southbound lane to go around a vehicle that pulls over.

Lynch on Friday emphasized the turnpike expansion will benefit not only Rochester, but also New Hampshire as a whole.

After helping cut the pink ribbon to signify opening of the new Spaulding Turnpike, Lynch, in addressing transportation officials, said, “The contributions that you’ve made will go on for generations. You’ve really helped a lot of people with the work that you’ve done.”

Members of the DOT praised the work of the contractors to get the project done ahead of schedule and under budget.

According to DOT Deputy Commissioner Michael Pillsbury, construction and engineering costs of the project amounted to $122 million, compared to the $141 million cost that was estimated based on original bids from the contractors. The pricetag of the project was originally thought to be $156 million, he said.

The tolls that were implemented at the turnpike through efforts by Lynch are paying 100 percent of the 30-year bond for construction and engineering costs, said Pillsbury.

Since the beginning of the project in fall 2007, about 100 workers were at the Spaulding Turnpike on any given day during construction season.

Contractors for the project are S.U.R. Construction for work on Exit 12; Alvin J. Coleman and Sons for Exits 13 and 14; Severino Construction for Exit 15; and R.S. Audley for Exit 16.

Finishing work on the Spaulding Turnpike is expected to continue this spring. According to Pillsbury, remaining work includes landscaping and final paving of roads, such as Route 11 and Ten Rod Road.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.